Owner/Breeder Millard Seldin Dies at 93

Owner/breeder Millard Roy Seldin of Paradise Valley, Ariz., and Omaha, Neb., passed away peacefully Jan. 24, according to his family. He was 93. 

Born in Council Bluffs, Iowa, on Aug. 8, 1926, Seldin had a passion for sports, including a deep affection of Thoroughbred breeding and racing.

Seldin and Vinery bred multiple graded stakes winner Love Lock, who won the Hollywood Starlet Stakes (G1), Debutante Stakes (G3), and Golden Rod Stakes (G3) in 1997 for owner Michael Tabor and trainer D. Wayne Lukas. He also bred—solely and with partners—stakes winners Pretty Greeley and Sirpa. Top horses Seldin campaigned as homebreds included grade 3 winner Her Valentine; graded-placed multiple stakes winner Golden Yank; and stakes winners Cherokee Lord and Dr. Hugs. As an owner, he campaigned grade 1-placed, four-time stakes winner Greeley's Conquest  with trainer Gary Thomas. 

Seldin was also a minority partner in the Phoenix Suns and Phoenix Mercury professional basketball teams. He was a consummate student, philanthropist, and medical advocate who was always helping others. In 2013, Seldin made a donation to Barrows Neurological Foundation in honor of his wife, Beverly. The gift was used to form the Beverly and Millard Seldin Family Disc and Spinal Regeneration Lab.

In 1947, he began a home-building career with his father, Ben Seldin, forming Seldin and Seldin, before graduating from the University of Iowa. Seldin was the founding member of an Omaha real estate business, which included many entities merged into the Seldin Development and Management Company. He also co-founded Hawkeye Bank in Iowa and Southwest Value Partners in 1990 in Scottsdale, Ariz., while maintaining real estate and business interests in Omaha. Seldin worked closely with his son Scott until recently at Seldin Real Estate, the operating company for the family office of Kent Circle Partners.

Community and public service were equally important to Seldin, who served two years in the U.S. Navy during World War II, trained as a radio gunner, and was in flight school when the war ended. Years later he served on the Council Bluffs Planning Board, was president of Council Bluffs Industrial Foundation, and was active in the Omaha Home Builders Association, National Home Builders Association, and Urban Land Institute.

Seldin is preceded in death by his wife of 58 years, Beverly. Survived by sons Scott (Beth) of Paradise Valley, and Derry (Wendy), St. Louis; daughter Traci Moser (David), Paradise Valley; cousin Joan Frentz, Santa Rosa, Calif.; and six grandchildren, Ariana, Ben, Marina, Grayson, Aaron, and Grant.

In memory of Seldin, donations may be sent to Barrows Neurological Foundation in Phoenix, Jewish Federation of Omaha, or Old Friends Thoroughbred Retirement Farms near Georgetown, Ky.